Fearless
synopsis: you're a young na’vi named syulang who comes from a horrible family and because of your terrible childhood you have a crippling fear of heights. living in the omatikaya clan everything you did was up in the air. even your rite of passage was in the air. this was something that was heartbreaking to you because you felt like you would never be seen as one of the people in the eyes of your clan. you hated how your fears consumed you. will your life always be this way?
pairings: neteyam x bestfriend!reader, sully family x daughter/sister!reader, ao’nung x reader if you squint really hard.
warnings: descriptions of child neglect, fear of heights
word count: 4.5k
a/n: i said i was gonna post this yesterday and i lied. i very much fell asleep editing.
translations: sa'nu - mom, ite - daughghter, uturu - refuge, sempu - dad, za'u - come, ngaytxoa - sorry.
as a child, your parents weren't the best. they would always leave you out of sight, in the way of danger, with no concern for your safety. nobody in the clan knew of this until one day when your mother and father left you alone again in the forest. they didn't care if you wandered off because you would somehow always end up back home.
you were three years old, almost four, because your birthday was in a week. your parents left you in the same spot they always did, and you waited just a few minutes after they left before you, yourself, departed from the clearing in the trees. you had grown very fond of going to the river just a few paces away from where you were left. you don't know what it was about the water that entranced you, but once you had found this place the first time, it was the only place you ever went.
you didn't have friends back in the village because your family was closed off from the rest of the clan. your parents just don't want people to know how they treat you. you may be young, but you know that this isn't how parents are supposed to treat their kids. you know this because you sometimes observe the other families at the communal dinners. that isn't very often, though, because your parents rarely attended communal dinners.
as you reached your destination, the beautiful river waterfall, you immediately felt serenity upon hearing the rush of the river flow, and the song of nature consumed your surroundings. you would spend most of your time here and then start your journey home just before eclipse, knowing the way back very well now, which is a shame because of how young you are. you spend your time admiring the plants and playing with the fan lizards. although you could get home without any injuries too bad, nothing could have prepared you for the hammerhead titanothere approaching you.
you hear the huff of its breath behind you, creating a gust of wind that catches your attention. terrified to be faced with an enemy like this and not knowing what to do, you ran away, not seeing the hole in the ground that caused you to lose your footing. of course, with your luck, you fell right off the waterfall's edge. the intensity of the wind from the fall, plus the adrenaline rushing through your body, was overwhelming for your tiny body, so you passed out before you even hit the water below you.
fortunately for you, there was a family of five playing in the river bend just below the waterfall. it was their mother who had heard the loud splash. curious about what it was, she walked closer to the water, spotting an unconscious na'vi child floating in the water. she gasped in horror, quickly moving to get you out of the water.
"ma jake, za'u" she yelled as she picked up the child, bringing her over to where her family was gathered.
hearing the distress in his mate's voice, jake stopped splashing with his other two children to see what was wrong. seeing his wife holding an unconscious child was concerning, but even more worrying was that he had seen that child somewhere before.
there was a day he was out hunting for dinner. he had come across a big open area, avoiding it because there looked to be no hunt. but something stopped him. he noticed a small child sitting on a rock all by herself. and as a father, of course, he was concerned because if this were his child, he would be worried sick.
he approached her slowly so that he wouldn't scare her. "hey, little one." it was a gentle greeting that grabbed your attention. you turned to him, unsure who he was, as you didn't really get out much.
"who are you?" you asked innocently. jake was confused that you didn't know who he was because he's the olo'eyktan, but you're just a child, so he brushed it off as childish ignorance. "my name is jake sully. who are you?" he said, sitting down crisscrossed so he could be at eye level with you.
"i'm syulang. hi, jakesulli," you said as you paid more attention to the flowers that were sprouting between the cracks of the rock.
"why are you here, syulang?" jake asked the little girl.
"i'm waiting for my parents to hide because we're playing hide and seek!" she says with a smile.
jake sighed in relief, knowing the girls' parents were nearby and they hadn't just left her there. if only he knew the truth.
"okay, well, be safe little one." the male na'vi stood to his full height, departing and leaving to continue his hunt.
he thought about the little girl from time to time because he seldom saw her around. but right now, seeing you on the ground breathing shallowly, he knew he had to get you to mo'at.
"stay with the kids." jake told neytiri. the mother nodded as she watched her mate disappear into the trees toward their home.
immediately mo'at recognized you as the child who was always missing from her lessons. she figured she would heal you and then ask you where your parents were. mo'at was very quick to aid your wounds, making it easier for your body to replenish your energy. soon you were waking up to the sound of adults talking.
"hello?" you called out.
"oh dear child you are awake," the two women were quick to come dote on you.
"who are you guys?" you asked them weakly, your body still tired.
mo'at and neytiri were shocked. how were you an omatikaya child, and you do not know your own tsahik.
“i am mo’at. i am tsahik of our clan.”
"what is… tsahik?" that question was all the adults needed to hear before they figured out what was going on.
you were missing lessons, found unattended and unconscious, and could barely speak as well as the other na'vi your age. you looked very skinny and borderline malnourished.
your parents were neglecting you.
"who are your parents dear?" neytiri asked.
you gave them your parents' names and explained everything they had ever done to you. you were tired of being hurt. you wanted to be safe now.
immediately jake and neytiri set out to go find your parents, and it only took about 30 minutes. they returned, your parents walking behind them, shame written all over their faces. they were restrained with their arms behind their head. mo'at called an emergency clan meeting, and once everyone gathered, she began her announcement.
"the omatikaya clan is a family. we are to care for our brothers and sisters, look out for our women and children, and protect our home from any dangers. there is a couple here tonight that is about to be banished. let this be a warning to everyone." her statement was punctuated by jake and neytiri dropping the two na'vi to the ground, having them kneel in shame in front of everyone.
"this father and this mother have been neglecting their child. every day they take her outside to the forest and leave her in a clearing to fend for herself. they do this so nobody would find her home alone while they went and snuck around the forest like immature ass teenagers. they didn't want their neglect to be found out because they knew what the consequences would be." jake said in a firm voice.
it was like he was giving a silent warning, a threat, if you will. he wanted everyone in the clan to know that this behavior is unacceptable and that if you're acting of this nature, get your shit together unless you want to end up like these two.
neytiri stepped forward, speaking in a stern and almost menacing tone.
"these two scum are to be banished to the wastelands. stripped of their title as omatikaya, and blacklisted from every clan in the forest. their ikrans will be taken away, and they will not be allowed contact with the child whos precious life they almost stole away. thank eywa that she was brought to me and my family. my husband, olo'eyktan jakesulli and i will adopt her into our family. treat her as one of our own, and give her the love she deserves."
everyone in the clan was cheering at neytiri's speech. as the two scouts prepared to transport the two na'vi to the wastelands, their ikrans took off, having no mercy on their passengers, who had to endure the entire ride.
being 19 is supposed to be fun, but for you, it's anything but fun. as an omatikayan, your way of life is off the ground. high above the trees, soaring across the skies, scaling countless mountains. everything is high up. and to any everyday clan member, life this way was beautiful, and they wouldn't want to live any other way. but you… you felt differently.
you couldn't stand heights. you had that fall from the waterfall to blame for that. ever since that day, you would never set foot near the edge of the high camps. let alone ride an ikran. you knew from a young age that completing your rite of passage would be impossible.
the only way anyone could get you on an ikran was if they gave you a blindfold. you also needed something to plug your ears and be allowed to death grip the flyer's waist from how terrified you felt as the wind rushed past you.
but this fear of heights also meant that you would never be able to complete your iknimaya. that's what has you so depressed. you just wanted to fit in, look for a mate, and be a teenager like everyone else is, but you can't because you are not seen as one of the people. you're 19, and everyone in the village treats you like you're glass, for crying out loud. even your own family.
you love the sully family. they are your saviors, after all. you were infinitely grateful for them taking you in and treating you as if you were their daughter or playing with you like you were real siblings. you and neteyam became attached at the hip, becoming best friends instantly. you had piqued his interest when he saw you in his grandmother's tent, sleeping while you were healing from your previous injuries.
the next day he was all in your personal space, asking you questions about your cuts and scars and where you gut them from. it confused him when every single one of your answers was the same. "oh, i just got hurt while i was walking home" the boy never questioned it because as he got older, he started to understand what you meant. he began to understand your past without you having to explain it.
neteyam had tried to get you to fly on an ikran before, but you couldn't even make it to the climb up. the height was too immense. you got lightheaded and dizzy just seeing it, absolutely petrified with fear. nete, eventually, gave up trying to slowly inch you up the mountain. when the two of you returned home, jake and neytiri scolded neteyam for doing that to you, knowing how afraid of heights you are.
of course, the boy apologized to you. still, he just wanted you to conquer your fears and pass your iknimaya so the other kids in the village would stop saying things about you behind your back.
everyone knew about your fear of heights, and most of the na'vi your age made fun of you for it. you couldn't help but feel embarrassed because it's not like they're wrong. the omatikayan way of life is in the sky.
you were returning home from your visit to the nearby river, where you spent most of your time. whether beading necklaces or rebraiding your hair, you were always there. as your home came into sight, you saw your mom and dad sitting outside talking to each other. your mother seemed to be upset about something, so you approached them. "ma sa'nu, is everything okay?" you asked her.
your father sighed heavily, repeating the words that triggered your mother's tears in the first place.
"we have to leave the forest."
you had been blindfolded for a while now, flying on the back of your mother's ikran. the days were starting to blur together, and you figured you would lose your ability to see because of how long you'd had this damn blindfold on.
as you were about to complain, you could smell the air change. it got lighter and easier to breathe. it smelled fresh, almost like you guys were flying over water now. you tapped your mother's shoulder, and she hummed in acknowledgment.
"sa'nu are we near water?" you asked.
"yes, ma ite, we are. i can fly down so you can touch it if you like." neytiri suggested. your mother quickly picked up on your love for the rivers back home, so she figured that being near a water body would give you some sense of security.
you gasped, nodding excitedly as you felt your mom lower her ikran, which caused you to grip her a bit tighter because you were still afraid.
"you can take your blindfold off," you hear lo'ak yell from above you.
you hesitated a little bit, knowing lo'aks mischievous nature but figured he was right because the scent of the fresh ocean water got stronger.
you slowly slid your blindfold up, your eyes adjusting to the sun as you hadn't looked at anything in a while. once your eyes adjusted, you saw the beautiful blue waters below the ikran's wing. you gasped as you reached down, feeling the cool water against your hands. you noticed a small school of fish following close behind your hand, making you smile. you were starting to feel calm until you heard a horn begin to blow. your mom's ikran started to fly higher, away from the waters, and you screamed, and you put your blindfold back on, quickly latching onto your mother's waist so you wouldn't fall to your death.
as you felt your mother land, you quickly dismounted, planting your feet on the ground, and falling to your knees, trying to control your intense breathing. your mother hadn't warned you that she was going to fly higher, and she felt so bad because you're so shaken up right now.
"ngaytxoa, ma ite. i'm sorry, " she said, pulling you from your knees and into her chest for a hug. she comforted you until she felt your breath ease and then walked with the rest of your family to the center where the clan had gathered.
you took in the environment around you. there was water everywhere. your attention was grabbed by a tall, teal man covered in tattoos and wearing a formal shoulder piece. "jake sully, toruk makto, you have brought your family to my reefs. why?"
your father and the clans' olo'eyktan got to talking, explaining the reasoning for being here.
uturu.
you were absorbed in observing everything around you that you overlooked that the clans' tsahik had also arrived. she went around inspecting all of your siblings, calling them demons, half-bloods. everything in between. but she saw you.
as tsahik, she is the one who interprets the will of eywa, and from you, she feels that eywa is screaming at her that you are special. telling ronal to give you a test of some kind. so she approaches you, ignoring the hiss from neytiri. she still threw her a glare, though. everyone had gone quiet when you noticed the woman standing before you. she examined you, and you were nervous under her gaze. she looked over your arms, hands, ear, tail, and legs. she even pulled at one of your cheeks.
"ow," you said. you hadn't meant to say it. it was just a reflex. and hearing you say ow, triggered neteyam's reflex to protect you.
"hey! don't touch her!" he said as lo'ak held his arm, preventing him from approaching the woman. "neteyam," jake said his son's name in a warning tone. trying to get him to remember that they're here to seek refuge and that making enemies with the tsahik isn't going to help that.
ronal only glanced over at the boy, not acknowledging his words, knowing she hadn't hurt the girl.
"what are you called?"
“syulang te suli neytiri’ite”
"well, syulang, come with me," she said as she grabbed your wrist, pulling you close to the beach's shores. you walked with her, following behind, not wanting to piss off the tsahik.
you two stopped as the water came up to your ankles. she released your hand and gave you a straightforward instruction.
“complete your iknimaya.”
everyone in the clan was mumbling and whispering upon hearing what their tsahik said.
not even their best warriors were able to complete their iknimaya without training. ronal is telling an outsider who has never even seen a skimwing to complete her iknimaya. she's asking the girl to kill herself.
"ronal, ma mate, you can't ask this of a forest na'vi–" her husband tried to argue, but ronal just hissed at him, getting him to shut up.
"she can and she will." ronal said with a strong voice.
"you are trying to kill my daughter and we haven't even been here for 10 minutes." neytiri yelled, jake holding his protective mate back.
ronal continued to disregard everything around her except for you. she gave you a look, one that you read as someone who believed in you. but you don't even know what this clan's iknimaya is.
you slowly walked waist-deep into the water after ronal gave you a push of encouragement to the small of your back. before you could get any further, you noticed something massive approaching you in the water. but for some reason, you weren't scared of it. you remained where you stood as the creature emerged from the waters.
you could hear the gasps of horror and even a few screams.
"ronal, move her at once." tonowari yelled at his wife as he recognized the creature beginning to approach you.
hearing the panic in the olo'eyktans' voice caused the entire sully family to be on high alert. what was that thing? was this woman really trying to kill you? neytiri couldn't even defend you because jake made her leave her bow with their ikrans.
the large animal approach was called, as you heard someone nearby whisper, a skimwing.
you looked it in the eyes as it came to a slow stop in front of you. everyone froze, and ronal turned to the clan. "this young lady, syulang, will complete her iknimaya. she has been chosen by this skimwing–" the tsahik was cut off.
"ma tsahik, you cannot allow this child to ride that skimwing. that is the same skimwing that we have been hunting for the past few months. the one that has been terrorizing the other animals in the reef, he'll kill her." tonowari was stern as he spoke to his wife, but she looked at him as if his words went in one ear and out the other.
"this is the will of eywa. now tell me, mister olo'eyktan, who is the interpreter of eywa's will? hm? me… or you?" she said, voice dripping with venom as she spoke to her husband.
"you are, ma ronal." he sighed in defeat, turning to his hunters, who had their spears ready and aimed at the beast. "standby. weapons down for now. but remain alert." he ordered as he looked at his wife. "i'm trusting you," he said.
"you would be a fool not to, " she said with a sickly sweet smile as she continued her speech that she was rudely interrupted.
"the child will complete her iknimaya right now. this is the skimwing that has chosen her, so this is the skimwing she will ride." she turned you and gave you a basic rundown of how making the bond, mounting, and diving worked. tonowari was there to provide any pointers that his wife may have forgotten to mention.
nobody believed it was possible. a girl from the forest conquering a skimwing? there's no way. the skimwing slightly lowered its head, almost as if it was greeting you. you mirrored its actions and stepped forward. this was a new environment which meant new weather, new scenery, and new animals.
you didn't know how difficult bonding with a skimwing was. so when you walked over to it and quickly created your tsaheylu, mounting its back, everyone in the clan was left speechless. including ronal and tonowari
ronal spoke, her last piece of advice that she wanted to give you before you set off to complete the rite of passage. "the bond is sealed after the first dive is complete. the key is the dive back into the water, that is the true test," she said. you only nodded, feeling your skimwing's steady breath and strong heartbeat.
this all felt so natural to you. the water, the tsaheylu with reef animals, the breeze, the smell of the sea. you felt like you were in your element. like this is where you were meant to be.
'let's go,' you thought, and immediately your skimwing was moving, backing itself into the water, gaining speed as he got further and further out. the wind on your face as you carefully stood up on your skimwing, maintaining your balance. you let yourself embrace the feeling of the air rushing past you. it didn't feel the same as when you were on an ikran. the air felt like it was caressing you, not pushing and pulling you in every which way.
you were enjoying the cool, calm feeling, but you're ready for a thrill. you lower your body onto the skimwing again, preparing for what ronal called 'the real test.' you looked over and saw all the clan people and your family. they were rooting for you, giving you the whoops and cheers of encouragement you needed.
you focused your eyes back on your skimwing, leaning down, so there was no space between his back and your chest. ronal said to get as flat against the skimwing as possible and keep a strong grip on the handle, and you'll be okay.
you took one last deep breath before saying, 'dive.' you immediately vanished from view. nobody could see you anymore. you had dived, and they wouldn't know if you passed the test unless you came back out of the water.
underwater you were having the time of your life. you were going unbelievably fast, and you didn't think you loved any feeling better than this. the adrenaline pumping through your blood only encouraged your skimwing to gain speed. curving around coral and weaving through seaweed, you enjoyed every second of it, but you knew it was time to come back up.
a minute had passed before your family started getting worried. you can't hold your breath that long, can you? what are you doing down there? are you in trouble? did the skimwing hurt you? what if killed you out on the reef and-
before your family's paranoid thoughts could continue, you came splashing out of the water. you released the loudest battle cry you could muster as your skimwing spread its wings, riding the wind.
you reminded jake exactly of your mother, fearless in your element with a strong heart.
everyone on shore was jumping and cheering for you from the beaches. you could see your family from where you were. your brothers looked so proud of you, and your parents too. you weren't letting your fears control you anymore.
you were whooping and celebrating, finally feeling like yourself. you can finally be free from the shackles of the air as you are surrounded by the serenity of the waters. this is really where you were meant to me.
as you rode your skimwing back to the beach, you dismounted and removed your tsaheylu. you were immediately surrounded by both the clan's people and your family. everyone hugged and patted you on the back, congratulating you, a new metkayina clanswoman.
you are one of the people, and your family hadn't even settled into their home yet. as things died down, you spotted ronal walking towards you again, but this time she held an incredibly proud look on her face. she grasped your hand, disregarding the five fingers you inherited from your father, as she spoke.
"she has our dna running in her blood. she has our passion in her heart. she has our strong will in her head and a strong heart, gifted to her by our great mother. she is metkayina!" with the last sentence being said, ronal raised your hand to the sky and repeated herself. "she is metkayina!" the clan rejoiced. one of their own had returned home, and now you are a woman of the clan. of course, they all recognize that you weren't born here, but that doesn't matter. you passed your iknimaya within minutes of being on the island.
since you were seen as a woman of the clan, that also means that you could choose a mate.
boy, let me say, you had a lot to choose from. i mean, every boy in the clan just watched this forest girl conquer the biggest skimwing in history. that's kinda hot... but you decided to focus on your family for the time being. you guys were guided to your home by ronal's daughter, tsireya, as ronal and tonowari left to prepare for your celebration ceremony later that night.
as you finally had a moment with your family, you got to read all the looks of adoration and love. they were so proud of you.
"babygirl, i am so proud of you," jake was the first to speak, pulling you into yet another hug. your mother joined not long after. "you are finally a woman, ma syulang. you must be responsible around the boys of this clan," your mother teases you. "i don't want any grandchildren just yet," she said as she pinched your cheeks.
"hey! no baby talk. she only just came of age." jake said to his mate as she rolled her eyes in response.
"sempu! i've been of age for a while." you argued.
but your father just shook his head.
"no boys until you're 25." he said sternly.
your sister, kiri, tried to defend you, though.
"dad, that's unreasonable. 25??" she complained.
"you too little lady. don't think i didn't see how the chief's son and his friend were looking at you two." you two avoided eye contact at that last sentence.
you exchanged glances, knowing you noticed the two boys noticing you. you two always had girls talk before dinner and then came into the house giggling with each other, refusing to reveal what the two of you were talking about.
your dad hadn't seen the wink and flirtatious smiles that the two of you had sent the boys away. but that was something that you two could talk about later, of course. right now, you just want to enjoy the beginning of your new life.
a new life that would bring a joyful you.
a happier you.
a fearless you.
